Greenfield, Ind.  April 24, '83
Dear Taylor:
Your illustrated postal was a
great delight to me - although it rather
unjustly accused me of neglect in not
writing to you.  But if it seemed neg-
lect to you, a hundred other duties suffered
the same treatment, and as unavoidably:-
I have been racing to keep up with
the procession, and for a year have
been too out-o-breath to even pant
a letter to my now only brother in
the world - so you see I have some
claim not only on your forgiveness but
your sympathy as well.
How I want to see you, and how
I want to talk and talk with you!
On a flying visit to Greencastle some
weeks ago, I had the great pleasure
of meeting with your Mother for the





first time - a wonderful woman
I thought her.  She told me you
were expected out this way again
in a short time - but you never
came - or - if you did - slipped like
a gleam of vigilant evasiveness
past me, as you did the visit to
Terre Haute and Crawfordsville be-
fore.  Later I saw your brother
John, who said he'd tell me when
you came, but I have heard no
word from him since then.
The closing lecture season has
been good to me all through - far
better than any season I have yet
experienced.  I had two months
of it in New England states,
and seemed to capture every
audience.  I have many new things
written, but few committed.  This
summer I must devote largely to
that very difficult and disagreeable
duty.  Will have for next season's
business one bran-splinter new
lecture entitled "Eli and How He
Got There."  It will have stuff
in it you would like I am sure,
and I'd like to fire it at you.
I have a regular engagement with
Soife, a new humorous illustrated pub-
lication at New York which pays me
handsomely, and promises to broaden
and advance my literary prospects -
in that line, of course.  Outside of
contributions there in verse I have
a prose series running, under title
"Judkins' Boy", which will continue in-
definately - having taken so well.  I
am first informed by Editor that
a Boston artist will illustrate the
continued numbers - sending me an
illustrated letter from him over which
I have laughed till I cried.
And now God bless you!  I think
of you all the time, and must see
you soon, your good wife and the
children.  Give all my heartiest regards






and warmest wishes, and read aloud
to them the very latest jingles the
tardy-coming summer has wrung
from the weeping pen of
Young as ever,
J.W. Riley